C
C
In the next few months, millions wil1apply for postgraduate study. Most plan to get a master's degree, hoping it will help them stand out in a crowded job market.
在接下来的几个月里，数百万人将申请研究生学习。大多数人计划获得硕士学位，希望这能帮助他们在拥挤的就业市场中脱颖而出。
People often think they need a master's degree to get or keep a job, mainly because they feel insecure, yet research shows a master's usually raises pay much less than college degree, and some programs leave graduates worse off.
人们通常认为他们需要硕士学位才能找到或保住一份工作，主要是因为他们感到不安全，但研究表明，硕士学位通常比大学学位加薪少得多，有些项目让毕业生的处境更糟。
Despite the limited benefits for graduates, universities sti1have reasons to admit more postgraduates. In Britain, undergraduate fees are controlled by the government and have barely risen for ten years. Enrolling more postgraduates, who can be charged higher fees, is one way to make more money. In America, as fewer young people attend college, universities hope more students will return for master's degrees. Since 2000, the cost of studying for a master's in America has tripled. Many students still pay high fees because they believe higher degrees will help them earn more. In fact, people with a college degree make about 70% more than high-school graduates, while those with a master's earn about 18% more.
尽管毕业生的福利有限，但大学仍然有理由招收更多的研究生。在英国，本科学费由政府控制，十年来几乎没有上涨。招收更多的研究生，可以收取更高的费用，是赚更多钱的一种方式。在美国，随着上大学的年轻人越来越少，大学希望有更多的学生回到美国攻读硕士学位。自2000年以来，在美国攻读硕士学位的费用增加了两倍。许多学生仍然支付高昂的学费，因为他们相信更高的学位会帮助他们赚更多的钱。事实上，拥有大学学位的人比高中毕业生多挣约70%，而拥有硕士学位的人多挣约18%。
The subject chosen matters most. In America, master's degrees in computer science and engineering bring the biggest pay rise. In some subjects, people may even earn less. In Britain, men with a master's in politics make about 10% less in their mid-30s than those who only studied it at college, for history, the drop is about 20%%, and for English, nearly 30%.
选择的主题最重要。在美国，计算机科学与工程硕士学位带来的加薪幅度最大。在某些科目中，人们甚至可能赚得更少。在英国，拥有政治硕士学位的男性在30多岁时的收入比那些只在大学学习政治的人低约10%，历史专业的下降约20%，英语专业的下降近30%。
Women are more likely than men to gain from a master's degree. A British study finds such degrees raise women's earnings in 14 of 31 subjects, but for men, only in six. This is surprising because men usually earn more, and the gap grows with education. Still, women with higher degrees often earn more than those without, as they tend to work longer hours, especially after becoming parents.
女性比男性更有可能获得硕士学位。英国的一项研究发现，在31个科目中，有14个科目的女性获得了这样的学位，但男性只有6个科目的收入有所提高。这令人惊讶，因为男性通常收入更高，而且差距随着教育程度的提高而扩大。尽管如此，拥有更高学历的女性往往比没有学历的女性赚得更多，因为她们往往工作时间更长，尤其是在成为父母之后。
28. What motivates many people to pursue a master's degree?
28.是什么促使许多人攻读硕士学位？
A. They want to gain an edge in the job market. B. They expect to find easier jobs after graduation.
A.他们想在就业市场上获得优势。B.他们希望毕业后能找到更容易的工作。
C. They hope to earn more than college graduates. D. They wish to prepare for further academic study.
C.他们希望比大学毕业生挣得多。D.他们希望为进一步的学术研究做准备。
29. Why do many universities want more postgraduate students?
29.为什么许多大学想要更多的研究生？
A. To earn more from higher tuition fees.         B. To cope with the rising undergraduate fees.
A.从更高的学费中赚更多的钱。B.应付不断上涨的本科学费。
C. To attract returning students and adult learners. D. To provide more opportunities in technical fields.
C.吸引归国学生和成人学习者。D.在技术领域提供更多机会。
30. What is the writer's attitude toward people's pursuit of master's degrees?
30.作者对人们追求硕士学位的态度是什么？
A. Appreciative. B. Unconcerned.            C. Objective.                D. Disapproving.
A.赞赏。B.不关心。C.目标。D.不同意。
31. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
31.以下哪一项是这篇文章的最佳标题？
A. How a Master's Degree Increases a Graduate's Pay. B. Why Universities Enroll More Postgraduate Students.
A.硕士学位如何提高毕业生的工资。B.为什么大学招收更多的研究生。
C. The Decline in Students Pursuing a Master's Degree. D. The Value of a Master's Degree and Its Impact Factors.
C.攻读硕士学位的学生人数减少。D.硕士学位的价值及其影响因素。
D
D
Although photovoltaic (光伏电池) cells and wind turbines (涡轮机) were invented almost 150 years ago, they still generate only 7% of the world's electricity today. This might appear to show limited progress. Nevertheless. the situation is changing rapidly: over the past decade, these renewable technologies have grown faster than any other energy source, as their costs continue to fall and make them competitive with fossil fuels. Bp, an energy enterprise, expects renewables to account for half of the growth in global energy supply over the next 20 years. It is no longer hard to believe that the world is entering an era of clean, unlimited and cheap power, where society could rely less on polluting fossil fuels and more on sustainable energy sources.
尽管光伏电池和风力涡轮机是在近150年前发明的，但它们今天仍然只产生了世界电力的7%。这似乎表明进展有限。尽管如此。形势正在迅速变化：在过去十年中，这些可再生能源技术的增长速度超过了其他任何能源，因为它们的成本持续下降，使其与化石燃料具有竞争力。能源企业Bp预计，未来20年，可再生能源将占全球能源供应增长的一半。人们不再难以相信，世界正在进入一个清洁、无限和廉价的电力时代，在这个时代，社会可以减少对污染性化石燃料的依赖，更多地依赖可持续能源。
However, there is a $20 trillion hitch, In the coming decades, huge amounts of investment will be needed to replace old polluting power plants, upgrade outdated infrastructure (基础设施), and improve the power lines that deliver electricity reliably to homes and businesses.
然而，还有一个20万亿美元的障碍。在未来几十年，将需要大量投资来更换旧的污染发电厂，升级过时的基础设施，并改善向家庭和企业可靠供电的电力线。
Normally investors enjoy putting their money into electricity because it brings reliable returns. Yet green energy has a dirty secret. The more it is used, the more it drives down the price of electricity from all sources. That makes it difficult to manage the transition to a carbon-free future, when many kinds of power generation, both clean and dirty, need to remain profitable. Unless the market is fixed, subsidies (补贴) to the industry will only grow.
通常投资者喜欢把钱投入电力，因为它能带来可靠的回报。然而，绿色能源有一个肮脏的秘密。它使用得越多，就越能降低所有来源的电价。这使得向无碳未来的过渡变得困难，因为许多类型的发电，无论是清洁的还是肮脏的，都需要保持盈利。除非市场是固定的，否则对该行业的补贴只会增加。
Policymakers are beginning to see this problem as a reason to slow down the use of renewable energy. In some parts of Europe and China, investment in renewables is falling because subsidies have been reduced. However, the answer is not to use less wind and solar power, but to rethink how clean energy is priced so that it can be used more effectively, maintain profitability for energy providers, and contribute fully to a sustainable, low-carbon energy future.
政策制定者开始将这一问题视为减缓可再生能源使用的一个原因。在欧洲和中国的一些地区，由于补贴减少，对可再生能源的投资正在下降。然而，答案不是减少风能和太阳能的使用，而是重新思考清洁能源的定价方式，以便更有效地利用它，保持能源供应商的盈利能力，并为可持续的低碳能源未来做出充分贡献。